Poll: How do most of your new clients first get in touch with you? Autor de la hebra: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How do most of your new clients first get in touch with you?".
View the poll results »
| | | | | Other (Email + website contact form) | Aug 2, 2017 |
Email: 90%
Website contact form: 10%
| | | | Connected Tr (X) 
Reino Unido
Local time: 13:22
chino al inglés
+ ...
Almost always email, generally after having found me through this site. Very occasionally I get messages directly through this website as well.
| | | | Ricki Farn
Alemania
Local time: 14:22
inglés al alemán
I had this ProZ instant messaging thing / Skype on for a while, and everyone who contacted me through there was not a source of happiness for me.
Agencies wanting freebies without any intention of giving me an actual job ("our German translator is away, can you just tell me if these 50 words are okay? / can you just implement three items of customer feedback in this tiny Excel file?").
People (mostly from very far away) wanting translators for a fraction of my rate. <... See more I had this ProZ instant messaging thing / Skype on for a while, and everyone who contacted me through there was not a source of happiness for me.
Agencies wanting freebies without any intention of giving me an actual job ("our German translator is away, can you just tell me if these 50 words are okay? / can you just implement three items of customer feedback in this tiny Excel file?").
People (mostly from very far away) wanting translators for a fraction of my rate.
And someone, also very far away, wanting some editing for a badly-done test translation that would have enabled her to get some contract or other.
I have no idea if the medium attracts these less than fortunate encounters, but in any case, I try to have all first encounters via email, and then if need be, schedule a meeting via Skype or that actual landline wire that the backyard mice still haven't chewed through (ineffective mice around here!). ▲ Collapse
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Connected Tr (X)
Reino Unido
Local time: 13:22
chino al inglés
+ ...
| Instant messages can be fruitful | Aug 2, 2017 |
Ricki Farn wrote:
I had this ProZ instant messaging thing / Skype on for a while, and everyone who contacted me through there was not a source of happiness for me.
Agencies wanting freebies without any intention of giving me an actual job ("our German translator is away, can you just tell me if these 50 words are okay? / can you just implement three items of customer feedback in this tiny Excel file?").
I've had some fruitful contact through the ProZ instant messaging, but there are timewasters as you say. The worst are the "reply with your best rates" emails sent to every translator in the directory.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brasil
Local time: 09:22
Miembro 2014
inglés al portugués
+ ...
Of course, in a makert like ours, where clients and translators are spread all over to world, all other means of communication are second choice.
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japón
Local time: 21:22
Miembro 2011
japonés al inglés
By Morse code or carrier pigeon.
I'm old fashioned.
| | | | | A fair combination of... | Aug 2, 2017 |
Email, phone, Skype, SMS/text, mobile messaging (mainly WhatsApp, WeChat and Line)
These are what most of my good clients, agencies and direct clients alike, use to make initial contact with me. In my experience, enquiries through any other means often lead to nowhere.
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neilmac
España
Local time: 14:22
español al inglés
+ ...
Because it gives me time to consider my response. I don't really like saying no to potential clients, although my circumstances nowadays mean that I often have to, so an email gives me time to think about a polite reply and draft it properly. Otherwise, I may come across as brisk or even rude, even when writing in my own native English.
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